RIVM monitors the health impacts of lifestyle factors such as tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet and exercise, and sexual behaviour. Monitoring is also done on the effects of lifestyle on the occurrence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders and cancer.

Diet, exercise and obesity
Overweight and obesity in both adults and children are on the rise and  rapidly becoming serious public health problems. RIVM investigates the relationship between obesity, and diet and lifestyle. The institute also collects and analyses data on the effectiveness of weight reduction and weight maintenance programmes.

Tobacco and alcohol consumption
Smoking and alcohol excess has been shown to be related to such chronic diseases as cardiovascular disorders and some cancers. Alcohol consumption can lower the quality of life, while alcohol dependence can lead to serious social dilemmas. Besides research on alcohol, RIVM investigates the cost-effectiveness of anti-smoking programmes and monitors the effectiveness of anti-drinking campaigns.

Sexually transmitted diseases
RIVM investigates factors that play a role in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in order to evaluate the effects of prevention strategies. Moreover, a system has been developed to monitor the incidence of these infectious diseases.

Physical and social environment
Lifestyle and health can be affected by environmental factors such as exposure to noise or air pollution. But environment can also have a positive effect on lifestyle and health. This has induced RIVM to investigate environmental impacts on health and strategies to make ‘the healthy choice, the easy choice’.